On the path to protecting and improving your reputation, Googling yourself is one of the most important things you can do. It’s the first step to a better reputation, since you’ll have to know what you’re up against before you can take action. Getting started can be as simple as typing your name into Google and scrolling through, but in order to be truly effective you’ll need to understand why it’s important, how to get the most information, and how to handle what you’ve found.

One of the first things recruiters, hiring managers, business associates, even potential friends and dates will do when considering whether they want to associate you is check out Google to learn more about you. This is the age we live in; we have so much information available to us at all times. Monitoring the results for your own name allows you identify potential issues before they become crises. If a situation ever arises that could get out of control, remember that there are crisis management services that can help.

The basic idea of Googling yourself is simple: just plug your name or your brand’s name into Google and browse the first few pages to see what you find. After all, that’s what most people will do when they search for you - this gives you a good idea of what they’ll find. There are a few things you can do to make your searching more effective though, and Reputation Management covers them in this infographic!